Episode 3 The Country Council

The council - the organisation

we love to complain about.

All they want to do is tell you

how much of a knob-end you are.

You're right.

As quick as you can.

I'll give you five minutes.

You get

quite a bit of abuse now and again.

People shouting at you as they drive

past, as if it's our fault.

Councils across Scotland have

endured challenging budget cuts

while demands for public services

have increased.

The pressure has never been greater.

I'm not really one normally

for doing house clearances,

but this is by far

one of the worst ones I've seen.

The resources out there have

just not been there for them.

There's nobody to help me,

nobody, you don't understand at all.

Argyll and Bute's council

on Scotland's West Coast

delivers those crucial services to

some of the UK's most remote areas.

A wee bit of West Coast liquid

sunshine.

He's not coming.

You're joking me.

Because of the weather.

What?!

Get the clothes on now.

From island staff working up to six

jobs to keep those services going...

Started off, I was just doing

the roads and then

they added the grave-digging, and

the grass-cutting at the school.

..to those dedicated

to reaching clients

hundreds of miles

from the nearest cities,

these are the staff

on the front line.

Argyll and Bute on the West Coast

of Scotland

is home to a rugged

and coastal landscape,

made up of over 2,300 miles

of coastline,

23 inhabited islands

and the terrain is divided

by several beautiful,

but long sea lochs.

Almost 80% of the population

live within a mile of the coast,

in or near

the main waterfront towns.

And with the area attracting

millions of tourists every year,

the council face a challenge

to preserve and improve

the seafront areas.

Across Argyll and Bute,

there are 12 amenity wardens

who deal with everything

from ticketing abandoned cars,

dog fouling

and fly-tipping to pest control.

Covering the areas of Cowal and Bute

is one of the council's

most experienced wardens, Jim.

I really enjoy working with people.

And I'm also sympathetic

towards people's situations.

And if I can find a way

to help them, I'll help them.

So this is us driving

along the promenade.

Lovely...and nice weather.

It's unfortunate it's raining today.

Today, Jim is responding

to a complaint from residents

in a block of flats in Rothesay

that an empty property has

a trapped pigeon inside.

We're going to go and have a look

and see what the flat's like.

This'll be a first visit,

I haven't seen it before.

So let's go up the stairs

and see what we see.

Pigeon droppings can cause

respiratory problems.

So we will go up with our mask on

and a white suit.

When I was younger,

I could do this no problem.

I think it's pretty obvious

we've got a problem in here.

Put my mask on here.

I don't know if you want to come

in here, but...

..it's something else.

The flat has been lying empty

for over ten years.

Well, if you've got

an abandonment situation

and you're next to a seaside,

you've got a lot of pigeons...

..and there's a big hole there

they're using as their front door...

..and it goes on

for a long, long time...

..to be honest,

it can't get much worse.

But we can't have the pigeons

coming in, just...

INTERVIEWER:

Is this a council house?

No, it's most likely to be a private

landlord or has been owned

by somebody who might have passed

away or who might have moved away.

Maybe had no next of kin.

A whole range of things.

There is an occupied flat next door.

You can understand why the other

residents would complain.

There is a department within

the council that looks at these,

trying to bring properties

back to occupancy

because...we need

properties for people.

There are almost 3,000 people

across Argyll and Bute

on the housing list awaiting a home.

And this flat is one of over 1,000

long-term empty properties.

Hopefully, one day,

this will be a nice flat.

I'm sure, as time goes on...

..it'll come back to life again.

A lot of the things that we do today

require follow-ups,

so that's just their nature. Some

you can close on the first visit.

But a lot of things...

Anything we go to see regarding

rodents requires a follow-up.

Although not a council property,

the pigeon infestation

is causing a risk to health

for the neighbouring flats,

so Jim calls in

an environmental officer.

Richard here is going to do

an assessment for works required.

So we'll head up now.

OK.

I work a lot with Jim...

..looking at nuisance -

from smells, accumulations, rubbish,

smoke, that sort of stuff.

Oh, my goodness. What's actually

happened here? Pigeon carcasses.

Three or four down there.

And lots of droppings.

Yeah, the carpet's going to

have to come up.

We're in the position now where

we're going to need to serve notice.

At the moment,

we don't have an owner.

And we've got a name, but not anyone

that's willing to come forward

and do any of this work,

so I think it's, yeah,

the only option is for the council

the come in, serve notice.

If the work's not done,

we'll do it in default,

get a contractor to come in

and clean it up as much as possible.

This would be a very nice flat

for someone.

I think it's a shame that

places are abandoned like this,

and particularly seafront.

It impacts on all

the businesses around.

The clean-up will cost

the council £3,500.

The bigger picture here is

the council are working hard to get

this tenement block up into a good

standard, so all the neighbours have

got together, they're all looking

at investing in their property.

So if you've got something like that

sitting in the middle of it,

that really holds everything back.

I think it's important

to get rid of the nuisance,

but really important to make sure

that that place is cleaned up

and the neighbours can get on with

doing this place up and, you know,

using what is a really lovely

property on the seafront.

Across Scotland,

there are 26,000 supported adults

with learning disability.

In Argyll and Bute,

the adult learning disability team

is spread out over four bases

throughout the council's territory.

And its staff have to travel

long distances to see their clients.

Argyll and Bute. Wild and lovely.

Always raining.

But then you get one sunny day

and everything sparkles

and you forgive it.

Occupational therapist Pamela

has been working with

the adult learning disability

service for the last 14 years.

I'm off to see Christopher.

Christopher and I are going to be

doing some bereavement counselling.

Christopher's... I think Christopher

is 39 and he has Down's syndrome

and a learning disability.

And he lost his mum...

..I think it must be

about four years now.

It was quite a sudden death and

quite a shock for all of the family.

People with learning disabilities,

it's difficult for them to process

grief like you or I would.

Here we are.

Christopher's house.

I hope he's got the kettle on.

How are you today?

I'm fine.

Good, good.

I don't often see you in a suit.

Well, you have now.

I wear it for my funerals.

For your funerals?

Funerals.

Well, I hope it doesn't

feel like a funeral today.

No.

I've got some pictures here for you.

I know you like working in pictures,

don't you?

I do.

So, a funeral, you know

what a funeral's about, don't you?

Oh, yes, I do, actually.

Also,

we might sing songs and say prayers.

Well, I don't do that.

You don't do that? You don't sing?

No, I just...

You just hum.

I just hum.

I do a bit of that as well, yeah.

I mean, the reason I'm doing this

with you is because of,

you know, the difficulties

that sometimes you feel with,

you know, when you think about Mum.

Yes, I have.

And how are you feeling

about that now?

Sometimes OK,

but sometimes I don't.

Sometimes not.

Sometimes I miss her.

Sometimes you miss her.

Yeah.

Yeah, but that's natural,

isn't it?

Yes, yes.

Have you got a picture you can show

me or a little album of you and Mum?

I have. That's my album.

I'll just show you, me and my mum.

This is my mum with the two dogs.

Oh!

A lot of things have been lost.

A lot of things have been lost.

Sometimes I don't get it.

You don't understand why

all these things have happened?

I'm just wondering if you ever have

any of these feelings.

You know.

Well, sometimes I feel...

What do you think that picture,

what do you think he's saying?

Upset.

He's upset.

Uh-huh.

Lonely and upset.

Lonely and upset, yes.

Sometimes you feel lonely and upset.

It's OK to have all these

different...to feel angry,

to feel sad, to feel upset, to cry,

it's OK, it's natural

to feel like that.

Yeah, I know.

Yeah, you know that.

Not enough to do.

You'd like more to do in your life.

Uh-huh.

Like practise a gig.

Something to do with myself.

A gig.

Mmm.

I think part of the sense of loss

is that he doesn't have...

..really something that

he knows is going to happen

that's really positive

in the future.

You know, most of us can make plans

for a holiday or a new hobby.

But, you know, he doesn't have

anything to look forward to

at the moment,

and I think he needs that.

That's my plans.

INTERVIEWER:

Do you want to be

a DJ or a musician?

Yes.

What would your DJ name be?

Wolf.

Like Wolf.

DJ Wolf?

Mm-hm.

I think I'm going to do this,

a gig...for myself.

Copying music and put it

on my laptop.

And we make a list.

And we go and practise.

But sometimes I like to do things

for myself

by learning my gig practice.

Number four is a big step.

Um...I'm going to put

on this big performance...

..put on my gig.

I want to do it myself.

A big crowd of people. A big crowd.

Christopher thinks big, you know,

he's got big ideas.

Quite often, people with

a learning disability

can't fulfil their dreams

on their own.

By the very nature

of their disability,

they just usually can't organise

these things themselves.

So they need us

to kind of help them...

..realise their dreams,

ambitions, hopes.

The town of Oban is the gateway

to the Hebridean islands -

one of Argyll and Bute's busiest

tourist destinations

where the population triples

during the summer season.

OK, folks, can I ask you

to stand back from the side there?

We're going to be pushing

ropes across in a minute.

You're welcome just to stand

a few paces back.

Do you want it on the bollard?

Oban harbour's North Pier is

managed by the council.

What are you doing there, mate?

Jumping in the water.

No, you're not. No, you're not.

I was in earlier on.

Not now, we've got

activity going on.

Just take him away

with your clothes.

Why don't you go

and sit down over there?

You're not going in the water.

You're not going in the water.

Look.

Do you know this chap?

Whay-oh!

I think he's best taken away.

Get his clothes on.

Get your clothes on.

Do you want me to call the police?

Get the clothes on now.

What do you think you're playing at?

Sorry, who are you?

I'm the harbour master.

Are you actually?

And there's vessels here

and it's dangerous.

Sorry.

Right.

You need to get yourself

off the pier now.

Get him out of the water.

The pier is now undergoing

a major new development...

..a brand-new berthing

step-ashore facility

to allow leisure boat passengers

easier access to the town.

Have you asked them to leave?

No pooping!

There's a pound for a dinghy,

I don't know what it is

for a seagull.

The council's project manager,

Kirsteen,

has been overseeing the development

for the last 18 months.

We're complete

and we're fully operational.

The contractors had opened

and signed off ahead of time,

which is fantastic.

There's been a big team of us

trying to get this in the water

and get it delivered,

as per planning

and all the regulations

you have to go through.

So it's been good to get to this

point and feel we've really

achieved something for Oban, which

they've deserved it for so long.

More and more people want

to come here on holidays

and you can see that

just by the amount of boats

that have appeared out of nowhere.

We haven't even advertised it

as open yet and it's already full.

This is only a transit place.

You only come in here

for up to three days.

And the idea is that people

will like it so much

they'll want to base

their boats here

and then they'll go and populate

all the local marinas

and get all their services

done there,

which grows the business

for everybody,

which is what we were after.

I hope you're not making me

look wobbly from behind.

If I wobble in that...

Today is quite an exciting day.

As you can see, we've got

really big private yachts in.

We've also got the lifeboats

coming in, they've got to come in

and do some checks, so it's all

coming together at the same time.

We've got a big cruise liner

arriving which means

we'll be unloading 1,000 passengers

through this gateway.

One of the other reasons we did

this new facility

is to be able to have

cruise liners come in

and because of the age

of some of the passengers,

they were a bit uncomfortable coming

in to the former arrangements.

So with these ones, because it's all

more compliant and wider walkways

and there's railings and stuff,

it means even more people

can come ashore and enjoy Oban

and its surrounding areas.

The council estimate that

the project will generate

up to £20 million in income

for the local economy.

But at a cost of £2.5 million,

the development has also been

subject to resistance

from some local parties.

You're always going to get

people who think

that the council is stealing

all the people's money

and not doing things properly and

are being a bit rubbish at stuff

and you have to answer

their questions as well

and answer them to the best

of your ability

and when they're not satisfied

with the answers,

it gets escalated

cos I have to get on with my job.

I know that the majority of people

that are negative about

these projects, I think

I've got a professional outlook

that lets me look past it,

but I wouldn't say I've got

thick skin because I do go home,

read some of the stuff

on social media,

and it is upsetting

because when they're saying

that the project manager

is stealing the money

or the project manager's

actions are verging on criminal

and she should be fired

and it's not like

I can't pretend it's someone else

they're talking about.

So I wouldn't say

I had a thick skin,

I'd just say

that it's part of the job.

That's why I get paid

£15 million a year...

..plus tips.

It's a fantastic thing to see -

to have that right in the middle

of your town centre.

It's starting to look as good

as some of the continental ones,

so, Costa del Oban.

Every local authority has

a statutory duty

to prevent and reduce homelessness.

Last year, more than 34,000 people

were registered as homeless

across the country.

In Argyll and Bute,

Oban has one of the highest numbers

of homeless applications.

Area housing officer Ailsa

has been working with the council

for the last 12 years.

I'll never be a local. No.

I've lived here for more than

17 years and I'm not a local,

not for a while yet, if ever.

I've got to drop the Campbeltown

accent before that happens.

We're going to see a girl who's got

a baby, about a year old now,

she was living with family

and they asked her to leave,

just because of the issues

with sort of space,

having the wee one as well

in the house.

We don't tend to get many

who are entirely roofless

and have no fixed address

or whatever.

We do get people who apply from the

family home, saying that it's

overcrowded or they've fallen out

with Mum and Dad.

That is quite a common occurrence.

A lot of the applicants

are between 18 and 25.

You can apply as homeless from 16.

Anyone assessed to be homeless

is entitled to be

housed in temporary accommodation.

The council's overall budget

to provide that accommodation

is just over £1 million a year.

Get my exercise in for the day.

Hiya, how are you getting on?

Hello, how are you?

I'm all right.

How's things?

20-year-old Niamh has been

living in temporary accommodation

for six months

until a permanent home can be found

for her and her daughter Isla.

I'm not here to check. I'm not here

to check the dust on your telly.

Hiya.

What are you saying?

So, what happens, when the housing

associations are looking

at you for a house,

they will contact you.

So you'll get a phone call from

either Acha or from West Highland.

So they'll be looking at

the fact that it's you and Isla

in the household and you need

a two-bed. Once they've done that,

you will then be notified in writing

what the offer is to you.

OK? And it tells you on the letter

that you get three days

to get in touch with them to say if

you're going to accept or refuse it.

You'll hear before we do

if you're going to get an offer.

They'll phone you.

Get back to them as soon as you can.

Have that mobile on. Okey-dokey.

Right, I'll be in touch with you.

And as I say, let us know

if there's anything, erm...

And I'm starting to save

a bit of money.

I'm trying to put money aside

for it.

I know, because it is expensive.

Because the likelihood is that

the housing association property

will not have anything,

not even carpets.

So it's something

you need to think about.

Are you going to come

and say bye?

OK.

Off jumping off the couch.

Don't hurt yourself.

Are you coming up? Come on.

OK.

Ta-ta, see you soon.

You have a nice day with Granny.

OK, no bother, see you later.

Goodbye.

Goodbye.

Here we go. What's the matter?

Mummy's making dinner.

Look, we're going to have pasta

and dinosaurs and peas.

After I had Isla, we were

struggling in my mum and dad's house

and it was just getting

a bit cramped.

So my mum said that she wanted

to make me homeless.

So she wrote a letter to Ailsa,

to the council.

INTERVIEWER:

And who was it in

with your mum and dad at the time?

Was it just you and Isla?

No, there was me, Isla,

my brother Kieran

and sometimes his girlfriend Laura

would come and stay.

And that was it.

And two cats and a dog.

It was a pretty busy house.

Me and her dad separated.

It's just me and her,

better that way, I think.

Do you want some milk as well?

Niamh is desperate for the council

to find her a permanent home,

following an attack

by her previous partner

whilst living in the temporary

accommodation.

He was agitated and we just started

arguing about Isla

and he was saying... He went

upstairs and he was holding Isla

and he was saying,

"Mummy's bad, Mummy's bad."

He was just being really nasty.

So we came into the kitchen

and I asked him to leave

and he kind of towered over me.

I actually was standing

here in this position

and then he was walking towards me

and I was screaming at him

to get out of the flat

cos he was quite intimidating.

He's six foot nearly.

So it's quite intimidating.

Obviously, I'm just under five foot,

so I asked him to leave

and I was raising my voice

which probably made him more angry.

And then all I felt was him grabbing

my arms and then he put them

behind my back and then

he grabbed my mouth and my nose

and restricted my breathing.

And wouldn't let go. Then eventually

my brother got him off me.

Eventually. And then they left

and I phoned the police.

So I think it's probably more making

new memories, better memories

because there's not many good

memories in here, obviously,

because the assault

happened in here.

So I kind of want to move somewhere

to make better memories with Isla.

I want to know that

I'm in somewhere secure

and I kind of want to be somewhere

that he doesn't know where I am.

Good girl. We have got a really

good bond, me and Isla.

You know, she's my wee bestie.

What are you doing?

She's had a lot on her plate

recently, but she's doing fine.

She keeps her flat really nice.

The wee girl is immaculate.

Don't have any concerns

about the tenancy or the child

that I would be passing on.

It's just a case of

we'll keep her in the loop.

But in an area like Oban, I think

most people appreciate that

there's no empty homes sitting

waiting on someone coming along

who needs it that day.

There has to be some form

of waiting system for it.

You can't let it get to you because

if you took all the stuff

you hear and all the people

you deal with

and the issues they have home with

you, you couldn't cope with it,

you have to develop a sort of

thick skin in that respect.

You have empathy for the situation

that they're in, but you have to

deal with it professionally

and everyone is treated the same.

I feel the same about me getting a

house as I do about the next person

on the list getting a house because

they all need to get settled.

And we are part of that process.

Nearly half of all

Argyll and Bute's population

live in remote and rural areas,

meaning the mains water supply

does not always reach them.

Private water supplies

taken from local lochs,

wells or rainwater collection

are vulnerable to contamination,

so the council must annually test

them for all commercial properties.

On an early morning ferry

is council regulatory officer Ian

on route to the island of Coll to

run some private water supply tests.

We do have to cover the islands

and they are remote, some of them,

three or four hours on a ferry

to get there, certainly.

The thing about the samples I take

is that they have to be

back in the labs in Glasgow

within 24 hours.

So, yeah, a bit of a rush

to get them back tonight.

Coll has got a main village

of Arinagour.

It's got water which is...

Scottish Water look after them.

As soon as you're out of

the village, that's it.

Everywhere is on private water

supplies.

The best-tasting water will

come from a spring.

The worst, probably a lochan,

I would think.

Lots of wildlife in it,

growing and breeding,

it doesn't bear

thinking about sometimes.

And that's what we get involved in,

trying to make it safe

for the people that live

in the houses to drink.

It keeps you fit as well,

get on the bike as well.

The commercial businesses

on the island

that are on private water supplies

have to use the local authority

to get their water tested yearly.

They can't go anywhere else

to get it done.

Because basically

we police and enforce.

The water from the tap's

got to be drinkable.

And to make it drinkable,

we have to treat it.

All the private water supplies

that aren't treated

will contain bacteria and that's

what you've got to get rid of.

First to be tested today is

a small B&B run by local Fiona.

Do you have guests in today at all?

I do.

OK.

I've explained that you're coming.

OK.

I just don't think it's right.

I think when somebody's

lived in a property and they've had

perfect water, why start

mucking about with everything now?

And of course there's also

the added expense of it all

because they don't do it

for nothing,

you have to pay to have

your water tested.

OK.

It automatically comes on.

Automatically comes on, so that's

fine. So that's it, perfect.

All right?

Yeah, very good, perfect.

But Ian's department

and Ian himself have been very good.

They've helped and guided me

on what I should have.

Well, we're heading about six miles,

10K, to the Hebridean Centre.

It's probably the biggest employer

on the whole island here,

but it actually failed last time.

Hopefully the situation

has been rectified.

Good to see you, mate.

Not bad

at all.

All right. Good stuff.

It's good to see that you've taken

advantage of your...

..of the boiler notice

that we served you here.

And you've got your sign up there

basically telling people here

not to drink the water

unless it's been boiled.

I'll scrub the entire tap to make

sure there's no germs on it

whatsoever.

Because cross-contamination

in the water can be a huge problem.

And that is the sample taken.

OK.

OK, John, thanks for that.

Last on the list is a holiday home

off the beaten track.

So Ian must abandon his bike

and make it there by foot.

The ferry is at six,

so if I haven't reached that house

by an hour, we ain't going.

And we'll come back.

So I'm going across here.

This is going to be

really slidey.

And I mean really horrible.

In Argyll, the council,

we've got a policy of when we're

working remotely like this

that we've got a contact number

we can phone and say I'm going to be

away for three or four hours.

If you don't hear from me,

send the troops out.

The owner wants to sell, so has

asked for the water to be tested.

But Ian is on a deadline.

We'll get in there, get a sample

and then get ourselves out of here.

Because we're cutting it fine.

I don't want to miss that ferry.

That would be the worst thing

in the world to do for us,

because it would mean

being stuck here tonight.

We've made the ferry. Going to get

home tonight eventually.

Yeah, it's quite a long day.

And I probably cycled today...

I think it's about 17 or 18 miles

cycled today.

So, yeah, good day,

thoroughly enjoyed it

and I will sleep well tonight.

A few days later

and the results are in.

For two of those tested,

it is good news.

But for the owner of the holiday

home, it is less straightforward.

Hello, it's Ian Campbell here

from Argyll and Bute Council.

How you doing?

Just to let you know that the

chemical results have come in, OK?

Right.

Now, they're actually

worse than I thought.

It's failing on lead,

which is very high.

You've got lead pipes

somewhere in the house.

The iron rate is at five times

what it should be.

The pH is one of the lowest

I've seen ever.

I would advise not to drink

the water just now.

Yeah.

OK.

This is the worst one

because there's

so much stuff in that water which

it would be hard to get out.

So I think it's going to have

to be a borehole.

Probably a borehole will cost him

about £5,000, £6,000, £7,000.

If he chooses not to do anything,

I don't know, he can reduce

the price of the house

and hope someone buys it.

We in the council can't get

involved by saying

yeah, you must do this or that,

ie, you must do a borehole

or you must do whatever.

Because if it doesn't work,

who's going to get the blame?

Occupational therapist Pamela

has been working with Christopher

for the last five years.

Part of our job is to support,

you know, in the very daily things

that need done, like shopping,

personal care and budgeting.

But, you know, I think

we need to go beyond that,

so people have something

to look forward to,

that they have a sense of identity.

Yeah. I think we all have our hopes

and dreams.

They're deserving as much

as anyone else.

We are about to meet Ruth.

Ruth is our care manager,

one of our colleagues

working on the social work side.

Actually, Ruth's known Christopher

for a very long time,

many, many years.

He spends a lot of time

talking about things that are not

happening in his life, things that

he wants to have happen in his life.

The biggest one he keeps

talking about is doing a gig.

What I'd like to see happen is,

you know, him working towards

that goal, to see that possibility

of him being a DJ and having a gig.

My fear is that I'm setting him

up for, you know,

something that might not happen.

I think

that's the general feeling, uh-huh.

Cos I won't be able to do

it on my own.

You know, I would rather people

that he's involved with,

who he's already been working with,

were involved with it.

So he always has these ideas, very

grand ideas, and some of these ideas

are excellent but it's about scaling

it down to what's manageable.

It's just the fear of...

Cos I see this lone person up,

you know, with, whatever,

his machine, his decks...

I know

that. I didn't visualise that.

I always visualise him

having support.

All of those people coming in

and you just think...mm.

Yeah.

Possibly not. Possibly not.

Ruth may be worried that we're

setting him up to fail,

that maybe in the pursuit of this,

him being this big DJ,

doing this big gig,

somewhere along the line we'll fail.

You know, that's a legitimate

concern, I think.

But, you know, maybe, if Christopher

isn't willing to accept a...

smaller version of his dream, then

he might want to abandon it himself.

I'd like to put on this gig.

Now I'm thinking I'm not ready

to do this.

I'm thinking it's a bit too much.

But it's not too much.

In Oban, housing officer

Ailsa has been working

with 20-year-old Niamh, who was made

homeless ten months ago.

The waiting time just now

is relatively short.

I know it may feel to the people

that are waiting on a house

that six,

seven months is quite a long time.

It has been as high as two years.

I'm on the way to see Niamh today.

She was offered a house last week,

through

West Highland Housing Association.

And so she's in the process

of moving into that, so we're

going up to see her today, to see

how she's getting on with her move.

They'll both be very excited,

but moving home is stressful,

cos there's a lot of things that she

may well not be familiar with

from not having had her own tenancy

before.

Hello!

Hiya, how are you?

Fine,

how are you?

Oh, I'm all right.

Are you getting on OK or are you

very stressed?

Very stressed.

Very stressed. It's not easy

moving house.

No, I know.

That's when you realise all

the stuff you've accumulated.

So, this is it.

Oh, very nice.

It's massive. My kitchen's the best.

And how's Isla?

Oh...

Is it a bit strange for her?

No, she's been all right, actually.

I thought she would be

a bit unsettled

but she seems to know

what's going on, so...

That's a nice size too, very nice.

I'm very pleased with it.

So who's this out in the garden with

Isla?

Billy. This is my new man.

He's lovely. From Edinburgh.

I'll go

out and say hello.

Aye, that's fine.

Hiya, how're you getting on?

I'm just getting

the low-down on you,

that's what I was getting there!

All good, I hope?

It was all right,

yeah! Sure it was, eh?

Is that good? So you know where

we are if you're ever stuck.

We don't mind you phoning up

and asking something.

We can put you on to somebody.

You know, rather than get into any

difficulties here, because what

we want is for you to be here

and this is your permanent home now.

And we don't really want anybody

back! That's the truth!

You don't want me back.

No, it's nothing personal.

No, I know, I won't be back,

don't worry.

We're all about getting somebody

a permanent home and, you know,

we don't want setting you up here

to fail, or anything like that.

We know that you're at a stage

when you're ready to do it.

And it's nice when people keep

saying permanent. My permanent home.

It's great, I love it.

It's exciting.

Can't wait to get in here and cook.

Oh, right, OK.

I just want to cook, cook, cook.

Oh, no, I'm not cooking tonight.

Carryout.

That's a carryout or

a takeaway.

Takeaway, no cooking.

Yeah, that's a good excuse.

But, no, that's magic. That's magic.

Right, I'll see you next week.

Yes, it was lovely to see you.

Thanks for popping round.

See you later.

Right.

Good girl. Right, in you go.

Go on, then.

It's nice to see people

getting housed.

The be-all and end-all of what we do

is getting people a permanent home.

People are so happy at that point.

That's what you want to see,

them getting settled.

A lot of people start to think,

"Well, what else do

I need to sort out? Can I get a job?

"Will I go back to college?"

Because not having a home is a big

thing that hangs over people

and once they get that sorted,

they can look at what

they want to do in the future

as well, so it's nice, it's good.

It's the best part of the job,

is seeing someone get a house.

There are around 2,000 planning

applications made in Argyle and Bute

every year and each one of them

has to be assessed by a council

planning officer, like Rory.

Today is going out to Islay,

which is

one of the areas I'm sort of

nominally responsible for,

and doing the site visits

for these applications.

Economical development can be

a precious thing where we are,

so we really do our best

to facilitate that,

but it has to be the right thing,

in the right place.

Most of the area I cover, there is

a real traditional character

to the buildings in the built

development and that is not always

necessarily compatible with

modern needs and development so

there can be a tension, definitely.

So sometimes this

is, like, a crucial bit,

is standing out on the ferry as you

approach or as you leave.

Sometimes there are just

views that are really

important from the ferry

that are going to affect how this

place is experienced and you don't

get it from anywhere else,

so it can be an important part

of how you look at things.

Once on Islay, Rory wants to

assess the development plot

from a distance to see how it

will fit into the landscape.

So what we've got is a house

that's under construction

and someone looking to put

up a couple of timber cabins

in the garden ground

for holiday letting.

You can see at least that there's

a significant backdrop to the

development, which is good. It's

sort of got a setting around it.

I think to have two timber cabins in

there, in what will probably look...

You know,

will look OK in the landscape.

When I'm looking at these things,

I have a logical process that I go

through and it starts off with -

is the principle of this thing

broadly consistent

with our development plan policy?

So the answer to this one is yes,

small-scale tourism development.

So then we just have

to look at the specifics.

Immediately here,

we have a bit of a problem.

There's a separate road opening

permit consent process that

needs to be gone through before

you can create new accesses onto

the public road

and I don't think that's been done.

Not something we deal with,

but something we'll pass on.

So the two cabins are proposed to go

up on that...up on this ledge here.

There's not really much to see,

in terms of getting up there

but I like to just go and have

a walk around anyway, you know,

where the things

are actually going to be.

The application says

"part retrospective"

and I thought that was

because the access was in

but it turns out the cabin's

already there, one of them.

Is that allowed?

No.

I wasn't expecting that.

Fundamentally, this is a development

that should have planning

permission that doesn't.

It's well hidden, anyway,

because I didn't notice it!

It is what it is.

I've got an application in

to assess this and I'll assess it.

And then, based on the outcome

of that assessment,

we'll either need to take some

action or we won't.

We won't view it any more positively

because it's already there

so there may well be consequences.

Obviously this is one.

The application's for two,

so I need to have a think

about the other one as well,

which is just going in this area

of trees over here.

Next steps for this one will be to

go back to the office -

I'll probably have a chat

with my manager, my colleague,

the enforcement officer,

about the fact this is already here

and we'll take it from there.

Rory's boss, back in Lochgilphead,

is principal planning

officer Richard.

That's it.

Why do people do this?

It's just annoying.

You know, it makes life difficult

for us, it's a risk for him,

councillors hate it.

Retrospective applications.

You know, if anything's going to

push their buttons,

it's a retrospective application.

But there's nothing going on now?

He's stopped?

No, there was no-one there.

Something's happened,

because he's got halfway through

and then applied for the two,

sought to regularise it.

We didn't intervene.

We have a massive

geographical spread

and a limited amount of staff,

really,

and we're not

everywhere at all times,

so we do rely to a certain extent

on people complaining, you know,

on local residents noticing things

that haven't got planning permission

and informing us about it,

so people aren't typically shy

about that and it's really helpful

because we sort of do need

the help to see these things.

But you couldn't see this

till you got actually

physically on the site,

so you wouldn't see it,

if you were driving past or

whatever, you wouldn't see it.

He's possibly done this in good

faith and not realised,

but we'll figure it out.

We need to address what

he has to do for the house.

Yeah, I totally agree.

If we can get all that sorted

out satisfactorily,

then my feeling is it's something

in principle

that we can support.

OK.

I did my site inspection sheet.

Good man.

Following the rules.

As always.

It is useful, though.

It's always great

to run things past Richard.

He essentially has the same

thoughts that I do.

I think this one is lucky that,

I think,

ultimately it's going to be

a positive outcome.

Something of this scale

that's retrospective,

if it's the wrong type of thing in

the wrong place, can go badly wrong.

Look, the sun's coming out.

Optimism.

In Oban, Pamela and the

adult learning disability team have

decided to help Christopher take

his first steps to becoming a DJ.

So, today, I'm hoping to be able to

say to him

that I'd like to support him

and find out from him

exactly what his vision is...

..so that we can try and

accommodate it as much as possible.

Potentially, it could be great.

Hello!

Christopher, can you remember

I was talking to you

about the DJing people...

Yes.

..that I've come across?

Mm-hm.

They are a small company

who are experts

in training people up to be DJs.

Yes.

And one of them in particular

is a really well known DJ

and he's very skilled.

Well, these people,

I think, would be

willing to come along

and assess what you can do

and give you any training that you

might need to put on a gig.

Mm-hm.

I love that.

Do you like that idea?

You love that idea.

Hello!

Hi.

I've got some gentlemen here...

Hello!

Christopher, good to meet you.

I've heard a lot of good things.

How are you?

I'm good. I'm Steven.

I'm Jack.

Nice to meet you, Jack.

So, I hear you're a bit of a DJ.

Yep, it's true.

Excellent.

So, what kind of DJ stuff

do you have?

I've got lots of things.

I've got something in my room

to set up music.

OK.

I don't know how they work.

OK.

I think one of you guys

will try to help me out.

Yeah, yeah,

we can certainly have a look.

We brought some stuff with us

as well, some music.

I've got my music too.

OK, OK.

Do you remember him?

Yes, I've

met him.

You've met him?

Yeah, yeah.

Very famous. No, he's cool.

So you want to press play

on here and push that up.

Press play again.

Cool.

So what you want to do is,

see the cue button?

Yes.

You want to keep on time, so you

want to go one, two, three, four,

one, two, three, four,

one, two, three, four

and then hit play.

That's you mixed the next track in.

Then you want to pull this one down.

There we go.

There you go!

DJ, that's you mixed a track.

So try and maybe cue up another one.

You want to do another one?

Mm-hm.

Hit the cue.

Oh, sorry.

Ready to hit play when it kicks in?

One, two, three, four...

Go. Aye, perfect.

The guys just clicked with him

and I think that he's quite excited.

He kind of... He's much more skilled

than I thought he would be

and he's been very clear

about what he needs help with,

which is great, so I'm feeling

really positive about it.

I think he's really clearly enjoying

himself there, so, yeah,

I feel good about it.

It went well.

There you go!

There we go.

Are you hearing that?

The economy of the area's coastal

communities is driven by tourism.

The council are hoping that £30

million of investment in the main

seafront towns will attract

more businesses

and create jobs all year round.

Overseeing that investment in Dunoon

is project manager John.

What do you think people think of

when they think of Dunoon?

It's perhaps, um...

fond memories of their holidays

because for Paisley, Glasgow, etc,

this is where they came.

It's a lovely place.

There are jobs and that's good

but there's not necessarily the

high-value jobs so people, you'll

maybe find, are working two or three

jobs to keep their house going.

One major focus

of the regeneration in Dunoon

is on the Queen's Hall, with

£11 million of council investment.

We'd the Queen's Hall

looking a bit run-down

so your initial gate into Dunoon and

wider Kyle was looking a bit tired.

But over the last 18 months,

we've done phase one.

So we're changing the whole

front of the building.

We're actually probably about four

months into a 12-month build.

So the first stage of it was

the demolition works of the

existing building we had to tear

down before we do the new building.

And then we've got a new build

structure along here which is

two storeys high.

Come this way.

This is the main auditorium. It got

used for lots of different things.

It got used for boxing matches,

come as you are dances back

in the sort of '50s and '60s.

It gets used a lot for ceilidhs

and highland dancing.

"Why, at a time

when budgets are being cut,

"are you investing in a building?

"Aren't there other things

that are more important?"

But if you look at the combination

of investment around the town,

it's small steps which,

added together,

make a sea change in how

people view this town.

At the end of the day, hopefully

when you hand the building over

and people can look at it and say,

"Actually, it is

beginning to make a difference."

And even if that difference is only

a change in perception or

a change in attitude,

people starting to believe

in their town a bit more and say,

"Why shouldn't Dunoon be trying to

get that employer to come to

"this town and set up business?"

And then that just opens up the door

for the young people

across a number of fields

where they can say,

"Hey, I can go away to university

and I can go and get my degree,

"but if I want to, I can come back

and live in Dunoon and work."

As opposed to having to

go in live in Glasgow or go

and live in Edinburgh.

While restoring the Queen's Hall

to its former glory,

John and his team unearthed

an unexpected piece of the past.

What we found when we started

opening up the building was

this time capsule.

It's quite a simple construction.

We ourselves don't actually

know what's in it

but we believe

it's from about 1956, 1958.

It's brilliant.

Right, ready for this?

Oh, a letter in a bottle.

And some old coins.

Alex F Dobie, the town clerk for the

borough of Dunoon. Provost EF Wyatt.

That's their business cards.

It's a copy of the Dunoon Observer

and Argyllshire Standard

from Saturday 4th August 1956.

There's a picture on the front

page of this one of the provost

actually inserting the capsule

into the wall of the solum.

We're off to Kirn Primary School.

The fact that we've uncovered

a time capsule from the Queen's Hall

gives us a nice opportunity to go up

and meet the kids

and sort of stimulate

discussion with them.

The opportunity when you're doing

projects like these to come in

and work with the schools,

the primary schools

and the secondary schools,

is great for us

cos we all work for the council

but we're in different parts of it.

John is meeting Miss Wilson, teacher

for the P5 class at Kirn Primary.

That's one of the things we are

keen on exploring with them, because

of these types of projects, it is

career opportunities that they

might not normally

see in a town as small as Dunoon,

so when you've suddenly got big

construction firms in

and architects

and mechanical engineers

and all that kind of thing,

it sparks their interest.

These are potential careers

that these children can go into

and if you plant that

seed at an early age,

it can inspire them

for the rest of their journey.

Morning, boys and girls. My name's

John Gordon. I work for the council.

The reason I've been asked

along today is we've uncovered this

box here, a time capsule.

So this is a chance for you

to see what's gone into it

and perhaps think about why

those things went in.

There is a bottle of Old Mull.

What's that?

Whisky.

But I won't be having any!

I don't think we will!

It's a newspaper.

Right, so that newspaper

is six times older than you.

What year is that?

Um, 1956?

1956, so this is

when the Queen's Hall was built

and that's what I used to use

to go down to the shop

and buy my sweeties.

Haribo?

They didn't have

Haribo when I was a boy.

Oh, I know!

We didn't have mobile phones,

there was only three channels

on the television...

This one's good.

Huge thank you once again, John,

that's been amazing.

Pamela from the adult learning

disability team has been

continuing to support Christopher

with his dream of being a DJ.

So, great news.

Christopher's first debut has been

booked for his DJing event,

which is brilliant and it's going

to be in a pub in Oban.

So that's really exciting news. A

little bit of trepidation about it.

Christopher's always talked

about having this massive gig,

you know, like a lot of the big

DJs have, with hundreds

and hundreds of people

and the whole deal,

and it's... Quite frankly,

it won't be like that.

I don't have much doubts

about him himself,

because he's so keen to do it.

He's so motivated.

You know, he's going to do

something.

He's going to give them a show.

Jack and Steven are actually

going to be supporting

Christopher on the night.

I mean, I'm hoping that he'll have

a big enough crowd that he

feels that it's a proper gig,

in his eyes.

It's part of what we do is -

how do we keep people healthy

and happy and help them

to do what they need to do to feel

good about themselves in life.

That's an important

part of our work.

So tell me what you're feeling

about tonight.

I feel good tonight.

Lovely! I'm ready to go! Shall we?

Come on.

Are you nervous at all?

Aye. I am.

What does this mean to you,

to do this?

It means I love to do it because...

it's my life, it's my future.

It's the way I have to get better.

Tonight, I'll try my best.

Lovely jubbly.

My friends!

Good to see you again.

Jack.

How're you going, how are you?

So, will we get kicked off, then?

So, fader up.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:

Here we go!

Ooft, here it comes. Mix it, man.

You're going

to concentrate on the faders.

Well done. Nailed it.

CROWD:

One more tune! One more tune!

One more tune!

CROWD:

DJ ROCK! DJ ROCK!